We will sink or swim together, impatient Mbeki warns Mugabe

President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa warned President Robert Mugabe yesterday that "we sink or swim together" and that economic collapse in Zimbabwe affected the whole region.

Delivering rare words of censure to his Zimbabwean counterpart, he urged Mr Mugabe to "understand" that his actions had "an impact" on his neighbours. He has refrained from criticising Mr Mugabe in the past, arguing that he could best influence his behaviour behind the scenes. By issuing this stern public warning, he sent a strong signal that he had lost patience and that South Africa was toughening its policy towards its troublesome neighbour.

The rebuke coincided with a milestone in Zimbabwe's worsening economic crisis. The International Monetary Fund will soon decide whether to cast Mr Mugabe into isolation by expelling Zimbabwe, a step not taken against any member in 50 years. A team of IMF officials arrived in Harare before a board meeting on Sept 9 that will decide Zimbabwe's future.

Mr Mugabe's regime, unable to import essential food and fuel, owes the IMF about £175 million. The country's inflation rate of 254 per cent is Africa's highest and a third of the economy has been wiped out in five years. A slump on such a scale usually occurs only in countries hit by civil war or natural disaster.

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Mr Mugabe has had to turn to South Africa for a rescue package. But Mr Mbeki, writing in ANC Today, the internal newsletter of the ruling African National Congress, said that "a stable and prosperous Zimbabwe is critical", adding: "All of us must understand that what we do in any one of our countries has an impact on the rest. It means that, as countries, we will sink or swim together."

Talks between South Africa and Zimbabwe on a proposed rescue package have dragged on for more than a month. Mr Mbeki has agreed in principle to save Zimbabwe from expulsion from the IMF by paying off some or all of its debts to the organisation.

An agreement on a loan for Zimbabwe, likely to run into hundreds of millions of pounds, is believed to have been reached by Trevor Manuel, South Africa's finance minister, and Herbert Murerwa, his Zimbabwean opposite number. But the proposed deal still needs Mr Mugabe's endorsement. South Africa is believed to have insisted on tough conditions, focusing on major economic reforms.

Aziz Pahad, South Africa's deputy foreign minister, has spoken of the danger of a "failed state on our doorstep" and has called for "fundamental changes" in Mr Mugabe's economic policies.

Zimbabwe's crisis has caused millions of its citizens to flee to neighbouring countries. Official figures issued in Harare suggest that about 3.4 million people - a quarter of the population - are living abroad. Some 1.2 million have fled to South Africa, more than any other country, and Mr Mbeki fears that if the collapse continues the numbers of migrants will climb further.

But Mr Mugabe is deeply reluctant to accept any conditions from abroad and has spurned calls for talks with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

He is pushing a series of repressive laws through parliament, including a measure that ignores reform altogether and makes the freehold ownership of land illegal.